Assessing Supermarket Quality in Relation to Town-Health Outcomes

Obesity, diabetes, and other heart-related illnesses are major problems in the United States. It has been revealed that this is mainly due to one’s diet, as a healthier diet would lead to positive health outcomes. Problems with diet and negative health outcomes correlate strongly with a lessened accessibility to supermarkets selling nutritious food, and a wider influx in fast food restaurants affect the decisions those in low income communities can make about food and accessing nutritious food. In order to determine why there is a higher risk for obesity and diet-related illnesses in lower income areas, an ethnographic mixed method (QUAL+QUAN) study was utilized. This was achieved through going to three towns - West, East, and South Orange, New Jersey - with varying income levels to assess different aspects of each grocery store in the area. This study adds to the existing understanding of food accessibility through a localized and enriched view of the quality of supermarkets, and how this quality differs depending on the average income level of an area. The income and supermarket quality of an area also directly correlate to the health of a town, especially with regard to obesity and heart-related diseases. The findings of this study suggest that higher income towns have greater access to nutritious foods, leading to positive health outcomes, while lower income towns have limited accessibility to nutritious food and therefore face negative health outcomes.